Feel free to discuss anything about any of the thousands of Transformer toys here. Anything from Generation 1 all the way to the soon to be released, the never to be released or the hope to be released is fair game! Want to show off your stuff? Please post your's and see others in the Transformers Collections Forum.

Seibertron's inexhaustible camera shifts it's focus to the little known "My First Transformers". A short lived toy line that originated in 1986. This series was focused on children ages 2 and up long before the Go-Bot or 1-2-3 Transformers lines.

An interesting note is that these toys had their own faction symbol, which resembles a very cute, rounded Autobot symbol but is neither Autobot nor Decepticon. Neither the characters nor the symbol have ever appeared in any fiction.

These three adorable Cybertronians were actually manufactured under the Playskool flag and were named Dump-Kun, Jet-Kun, and Racer-Kun in Japan. Click any image below to view the full gallery!

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

These were literally my first Transformers, purchased for me by my parents when I was a tiny toddler. These three simple toys were what sparked my lifelong obsession with this whole darn franchise. Kind of staggering now that I look at them in the cold light of Seibertron gallery.

My little bro had these back in 1986 when they came out 1 year after he was born. The regular Transformers came out a year before these in 1985. I met Peter Cullen at Botcon 2011 and he was a really great guy and was really impressed that I was a fan of Transformers since the beginning in 1985. I would not bother comparing these to ROTF Transformers because they were created for little kids in the 1980s and have nothing to do with more modern toys geared towards older kids and adults.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

GuyIncognito wrote:Anyone know the meaning of the "-Kun" suffix in Japanese?

It has no meaning. Rather, it's a suffix used for addressing a certain person, in this case a little boy. Similar suffixes are:

-san: the most famous one. Neutral and sometimes used with family names, it's roughly analogous to the English "Mr." or "Mrs."-sama: used for when you address someone you look up highly to. -kun: used to address boys-chan: used to address girls, or used as a sign of endearment.

GuyIncognito wrote:So you could say their names are Dump-boy, Jet-boy, and Racer-boy?

Not exactly. Like Jelze said, "-kun" has no real meaning in English. It's an honorific that shows affection. An appropriate way to say these names in English would be just "Dump", "Jet", and "Racer" spoken with endearment and/or respect.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

GuyIncognito wrote:So you could say their names are Dump-boy, Jet-boy, and Racer-boy?

Not exactly. Like Jelze said, "-kun" has no real meaning in English. It's an honorific that shows affection. An appropriate way to say these names in English would be just "Dump", "Jet", and "Racer" spoken with endearment and/or respect.

Or you could look at it this way. Honorifics can also be used for personification, turning an unliving object into a fictional character. What kind of character depends on the honorific.

GuyIncognito wrote:So you could say their names are Dump-boy, Jet-boy, and Racer-boy?

Not exactly. Like Jelze said, "-kun" has no real meaning in English. It's an honorific that shows affection. An appropriate way to say these names in English would be just "Dump", "Jet", and "Racer" spoken with endearment and/or respect.

If it's an honorific, then wouldn't the closest thing be something like Mr. Dump?

GuyIncognito wrote:So you could say their names are Dump-boy, Jet-boy, and Racer-boy?

Not exactly. Like Jelze said, "-kun" has no real meaning in English. It's an honorific that shows affection. An appropriate way to say these names in English would be just "Dump", "Jet", and "Racer" spoken with endearment and/or respect.

If it's an honorific, then wouldn't the closest thing be something like Mr. Dump?

It would, if it were "Dump-san" instead of "Dump-kun". "-san" is used with one's superiors like how "Mr." is, while "-kun" is more of an equal level between friends.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

I work with a SMC product called a "Monosashi-kun". I was always under the impression that this translated to "Mr. Measure" or "Mr. Ruler", but it seems that's not quite the case! It's a more diminutive term than "Mr.", I see!

Galvatron X wrote:Hmmmm, this discussion about the meaning of "kun" is interesting.

I work with a SMC product called a "Monosashi-kun". I was always under the impression that this translated to "Mr. Measure" or "Mr. Ruler", but it seems that's not quite the case! It's a more diminutive term than "Mr.", I see!

You learn something every day...

Yes. "-san", or even the literal "misutaa", would be "Mr." or "Mister", while "-kun" is term used between good close friends, usually of similar ages.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

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